BROOKINGS – The Friends of the Library book sale opened to members Wednesday night at the Brookings Public Library, and people were still excited to have their chance to find a sought-after book Thursday morning.

“People were waiting to come into the door before we even had it unlocked,” Janet Fergen, a volunteer with the Friends of the Library, said. “We’ve got a great selection this year.”

They also had so many donations ahead of this year’s sale that they’ve had to turn down additional donations until Nov. 5, when storage space is again available. Fergen said they’ve kept some of the excess donated books where the coffee shop used to be, and they’ve never had to do that before.

Sarah Sutton is no stranger to these book sales. As someone who lives outside of Brookings County, picking up dozens of books through this sale is a more convenient option. She not only picks up books for herself, but also for friends and families.

Although she favors such genres as suspense and murder mysteries, she keeps an open mind about books she’s heard about.

“If I’ve heard about a book and I don’t have it already, I tend to pick it up. It’s a good price, so even if I don’t like it that much and donate it back, I’m not really out of anything,” Sutton said. “It’s for a good cause. I read about a book a week, so this will keep me busy for a while.”

That it’s a good way to support the local library is one of the draws for Craig and Colleen Pahl.

“We think this is one of the things in Brookings that makes the town somewhat unique because there aren’t many towns anymore that have a library that’s as active as the one we have. Even in some bigger cities, it’s not even close to what we have here,” Craig said.

Instead of making one big trip, they typically make multiple visits and get three or so books at a time. In the end, they’ll still wind up with about a dozen books.

They also look for books with others in mind. One of the things they were keeping an eye out for were books about tai chi for their daughter. They picked up one book, “Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger, because they spoke with the author at the recent South Dakota Festival of Books event.

“We were talking to him about what he had written because I’d never heard of the book before. He just got us interested, and the author’s just really an interesting guy anyway,” Craig said.

As for what kinds of books he’s hunting for, he said that he’s interested in science fiction with a more military perspective, and he’s especially looking out for any newer authors.

For anyone else who’s a lover of literature, the book sale will continue through Sunday. Sale hours are 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1-3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.